Residents and police say an HMO conversion would lead to a nightmare scramble for parking.

An eight-bed house of multiple occupation in Halesowen is set to be demolished and in its place, developer Hardwick Studio Architects, is hoping to build a three-storey 15-bed apartment block.

The development is planned for The Rectory on Bundle Hill but residents say parking in the area is already a nightmare.

One objector said: “There is a lack of parking for the existing residents already. People from Halesowen school park here, from Windsor school and people visiting the town centre. There is not enough space – especially with the potential of 15 or more cars.”

Another said: “It is already a nightmare for parking, I hope these new apartments have allocated parking as we don’t.”

The applicants claim the close proximity of Halesowen town centre and Halesowen Bus and Coach Station means fewer people will need a car.

West Midlands Police have also expressed concerns that an increase in vehicles left overnight could lead to an increase in crime.

Officer Robert Manson of the Crime Reduction Unit said: “I have concerns about this application mainly around the parking arrangements, the site is on a single-track road which is double yellow lines all along Bundle Hill.

“There are 11 parking spaces, two of which are for disabled and nine for other users. The parking spaces are not allocated and there are not enough for all the flats which will leave a free-for-all parking for residents and visitors.

“This will lead to off-road parking which is double yellow lines and the site is on a narrow road which will see an increase in parking on double yellow lines and for traffic flow on the narrow road parking on the pavement. The road does not have much in the way of natural surveillance so any vehicles which are parked on the road will be vulnerable to vehicle crime.”

A total of 15 single-bedroom apartments will be provided as part of the development as well as communal areas and seven parking spaces.

In a design and access statement, the developer said: “The proposed scheme has been substantially revised in accordance with the feedback received and in compliance with the New Residential Development Supplementary Document where possible.

“Whilst the original scheme proposed a four-six storey building comprising 45 units, the revised scheme proposes a three-storey building comprising 15 units, ultimately reducing the height and scale of the building.

“The car parking space ratio is still at a slight shortfall, but provisions have also been made for the inclusion of seven powered two-wheel vehicle spaces resulting in parking provisions for all proposed units at a minimum.

"n addition, there is an argument for a reduced number of car parking provisions for the site due to the site’s immediate location within close proximity to Halesowen town centre which is only 0.3 miles away.”